If spending two weeks of break relaxing, along with the introspection of Matariki, has got you thinking ‘new semester, new me?’ then we have some good news for you. Whether your resolution revolves around finding stability in your grades or your finances, Tutor4U, a marketplace for tutors, might be able to help you out. Critic caught up with the platform’s founder, Jason Hart.
Jason is in his third year of medicine. Before this, he studied sport science in Auckland. He created Tutor4U in the last summer break and has continued developing the platform across this year. Jason was inspired to create Tutor4U for two main reasons: firstly, while he was in Auckland, Jason had been working as a tutor, connecting him with many other young students in the same line of work. “But I noticed a problem [among] some of the tutors. They found that the tutor companies they were with were taking too much of their income when they were the ones actually doing the teaching.” Second was the changing learning environment. While some flourished in remote learning conditions, for others this was a serious hit. Jason was especially moved by the stories of high school students skipping their NCEA exams. “So I had a thought, what if I could connect the two different populations…those who were thriving in those courses with those who weren’t?”
“In a nutshell [Tutor4U] is a private tutor marketplace that connects those who need tutoring with those who provide it.” On the student-side, it’s a bit like a search engine. You’re able to search and filter tutors by subject, tutoring level, location and rate. The platform lists tutors from NCEA levels right through to postgraduate, useful for high schoolers and uni students alike. Tutors are also verified and police vetted. On the tutor-side of things, it’s more like LinkedIn. Tutors are able to list profiles, specify their subject specialisation, their educational qualifications and availability. The platform even allows tutors to be as specific as to what exact paper codes they can tutor. “You decide the tutoring level, you decide your rate, you decide whether you want to teach remotely or face-to-face. You can choose your availability… it just allows you to work on your own terms.”
For those searching for a tutor, using the Tutor4U search tool is free. To list a fully-customisable tutor profile, there is an annual fee. Through this one-off fee, Jason aims for tutors to keep more of their earnings rather than paying a consistent cut to their tutoring company. “This way, the tutors can be advertised on the website and they can keep all the money that they get from their services so they can decide their rates and they can decide the financial relationship between their students and themselves.”
Jason found his past experiences tutoring very valuable and encourages others to give it a shot. “Tutoring in itself is a really good thing to do. For yourself, for your self-development, [and] for your own education.” If you are considering becoming a tutor, Tutor4U is offering their tutor plan, normally $96, at a discounted $60 with the code ‘OTAGOFIRST60’ to the first sixty people who sign up. To check out Tutor4U, head here.